A Race Against Time
by Dragonrider's Fury
Summary: It was a clear day on the Edge. No dragon hunters in sight. Or at least, that's what everyone assumed. But when things start to happen, and people disappear, questions start to arise. This story is an adaptation of a roleplay I took part in on Berk's Grapevine.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note:** This story (which is co-authored by OceanRosecrazydreamer and I) is an adaptation from a roleplay we took part in on Berk's Grapevine into a story. The only things I own in this story are Javon, Firelash, and Silversky. The other OC's belong to:_

 _OceanRosecrazydreamer (Who started the roleplay): Ocean Rose,_ _Xzander Lanelight, Moonlight, Snowflake, Shade, Electro, Daybreak  
_ _ _Sparrowhawk: Sparrow Hawk, Shadow  
__ _ _Luna G. Hofferson: Luna Hofferson, Snowdrop__

 _ _Everything else (except the plot) belongs to Dreamworks.__ _ _We__ _ _hope you__ _ _will__ _ _enjoy this adventure__ _ _as much as we did while creating it__ _ _!__

 __-__ _ _Dragonrider's Fury__

* * *

It was a beautiful, clear day on Dragon's Edge. Although the volcano, awakened by the Eruptodon after Viggo captured it a few months ago, still occasionally shook up the island, all seemed peaceful; there were no dragon hunters anywhere to be seen.

Suddenly, though, the peace and quiet was shattered by the sound of an explosion on the far side of the island. Ocean Rose Haddock, younger sister to Hiccup, looked up, surprised.

"What the Thor?" she asked of no one in particular. Javon Thorhammer, with his perpetually unruly dark brown hair and steel-blue eyes, glanced around as well. "What was that?" he wondered. "Any idea?"

Ocean jumped onto Moonlight, her female Jewel Night Fury."I have absolutely no idea," she replied, "But if it was the twins..." She broke off, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

Javon whistled for Firelash, his large, almost Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare. "They'd better get out of there in a hurry," he finished for her, sounding grim. He climbed onto Firelash, who had now come in for a landing. Getting settled in his saddle, he looked around, then said, "Let's go!"

* * *

 _ **Author's note:**_ _Considering that a Jewel Night Fury is a subspecies of Night Fury,_ _w_ _e thought that it would be a good idea to explain the differences so:_

 _Jewel Night Furies (JNF's for short) are extremely rare, usually born every couple hundred years or so, and are only females. Their size varies, but they normally are just a bit smaller than regular Night Furies. Unlike Night Furies, the JNF's coloring isn't jet black with some lighter spots. Where the lighter spots would be on a Night Fury are actually darker on a JNF and are either blue or purple, even if they seem black. They do have some scales, either pure dark purple or blue, that make a sort of crown around their head, and go around their ankles like bracelets. They also outline the tail flaps and wings. (Moonlight herself is smaller and slimmer than Toothless)_

 _JNF's can charge up their blasts and enter what is called 'Jewel Mode'. The scales around the face, ankles, wings and tail all seem to glow. When their shots reach the target, tons of little blasts explode out of the big blast looking like little jewels (hence the name, Jewel Night Fury)._

 _Due to their size and the fact that their plasma blasts are just a bit different, the JNF's stats also very from that of a regular Night Fury:_

 _Attack: 20_

 _Speed: 25_

 _Armor: 20_

 _Firepower: 20_

 _Shot limit: unknown_

 _Venom: 0_

 _Jaw strength: 6_

 _Stealth: 20_

 _No one knows what a titan Jewel Night Fury looks like._

* * *

 _And I apologize for how long that was._

 _-OceanRosecrazydreamer_


	2. Chapter 2

Javon and Ocean were flying across the island, trying to find the site of the explosion. Ocean looked down at the forest below. "It sounded like the explosion came from..." she looked around, then pointed to a smoldering clearing. "There!"

Javon looked to where she was pointing, then exclaimed, "Take me down there, Firelash! Come on, Ocean!"

"Dive, Moon!" Ocean instructed her dragon.

After making a low pass over the clearing, Javon looked over at Ocean. "I don't see anyone," he stated before asking, "Do you?"

Ocean scanned the area. "No," she answered, "But Javon, this destruction isn't the kind that follows a Zippleback. It's too neat, not the twins' style."

Javon came in for a landing. "You know," he said, looking thoughtful, "that is true. But if it wasn't the twins..." He trailed off, a sudden look of unease on his face, and glanced all around quickly.

Ocean landed beside him. "Then who was it?" she finished.

Javon slid off his dragon, giving it a pat on its long, serpentine neck as he did so. "Firelash, keep you guard up," he instructed. Then, turning to Ocean, he added, "I'm going to have a look around." Ocean nodded her assent. "I'm going to head to the clubhouse. The others need to know about this." She looked Javon straight in the eye, and added, "Do not, I repeat, _do not_ do anything foolish and put yourself in danger!"

Javon laughed carelessly. "When have I ever?" he asked, then quickly became serious. "Don't worry! I have Firelash here. He'll protect me." He turned to the dragon and asked, "Won't you?" Firelash rumbled an affirmative deep in his throat.

"I'll head back to the clubhouse after I finish looking around." Javon turned around, saying, "Come on, Firelash. Let's go."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:** I know, so far the chapters have been really short, but they should get longer after this. The real action starts next chapter, so you can look forward to that. :-D_

 _-Dragonrider's Fury_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note:** Well, here you go! The first chapter that actually contains some real action and is longer than 500 words! I hope you enjoy it!_

 _-Dragonrider's Fury_

* * *

Ocean Rose scanned the ground as she and Moonlight were flying back to the clubhouse. "What do you think, Moonlight?" she asked. "I mean, explosions don't just happen! And if it wasn't the volcano or the twins, then what was it?" Moonlight's ears suddenly pricked up, and she turned her head. "Moonlight?" Ocean asked. Moonlight suddenly began spinning around and diving, and Ocean exclaimed, "MOONLIGHT!"

 _~!{0}!~_

Meanwhile, back in the clearing, Javon was walking around, looking to see if he could find something, anything that would clue him in as to the cause of the explosion. "Hmm, no footprints, no tracks, nothing!" he mused. "But what could have caused that explosion?" He stopped, then facepalmed, as he realized the obvious.

"Well, duh!" he lectured himself. "Of course there won't be any tracks IN A PLACE THAT LITERALLY JUST EXPLODED!" He stopped shouting at himself and cocked his head, as a sound in the brush surrounding the clearing caught his attention. "Wait," he said. "Firelash, did you hear that? I thought I heard a rustling in the brush."

He turned around, looking for his dragon. "Firelash?" There was no answer. He turned again. "Firelash?" He looked all around, then called out, "Where'd you go? FIRELASH!"

 _~!{0}!~_

Ocean opened her eyes very cautiously. She saw that Moonlight had landed on the beach. "Moonlight, why did you-" she began, then broke off suddenly, seeing something lying on the beach in the distance. "Is that a canoe?" she wondered. Drawing her sword, she strode towards it, and called out, "Hello?" No one answered.

Ocean, glancing at her dragon, said, "Moon, warning shot." Moonlight fired a plasma blast, but no one came out. Ocean glanced in. "Dragon root arrows!" she gasped. She looked toward the explosion site, a feeling of dread growing in her. "Oh no!"

 _~!{0}!~_

Back in the clearing, after waiting for some time for his dragon to show himself, Javon grumbled to himself, "Well, I guess I'm walking home. But where could Firelash be?" He glanced around the clearing once again, then added, "I'd better be getting back to the clubhouse, and warn the others that _something_ is going on."

He looked around, muttering to himself, "Now, let's see, which way?" He then spied a familiar mountain peak which he knew to be very near to the Edge. "Ah, that way." He plunged into the trees, always bearing toward the mountain he had seen.

As he started the long walk, he muttered to himself, "If it turns out that those muttonheads are messing with me..." He broke off and did not finish the thought out loud.

About an hour later, Javon, still walking through the forest, said to himself, "It's a good thing I like hiking. By my estimation, I've still got about..." Here he stopped and looked up at the mountain's peak for a moment before finishing, "...two leagues[1] left to walk."

Suddenly, though, he heard a click behind him, and an unfamiliar voice said, "Oh, no, by _my_ estimation, you've only got about two _steps_ left to walk. Take him!" Javon attempted to turn around just as someone grabbed him from behind. "Let go of me!" he cried, struggling to get free of his assailant's iron grasp. " **Help!** " he exclaimed. "Firelash! Moonlight! Ocean! _Someone!_ _Help!_ "

He managed to turn around part way, and saw that he was practically surrounded by dragon hunters, one of which was holding on to him. He glared fiercely at them, saying through clenched teeth, "Let. Me. Go!"

* * *

[1] League: a distance measurement defined as the distance a man can walk in 1 hour, standardized as 3 miles (about 4.8 kilometers)

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:** And so we get to the good part. :-) Let me know what you think! Reviews are appreciated. :-) In the next chapter, we'll get to meet a couple of the other OC's in this story, so you can look forward to that. Until then!_

 _-Dragonrider's Fury_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note:** And here is Chapter 4! This chapter introduces a couple of the other OC's in this story. Enjoy!_

 _-Dragonrider's Fury_

* * *

Ocean Rose climbed onto Moonlight and they launched into the air. It only took a moment for her to hear Javon's cry for help. "Faster Moon!" She exclaimed, while grabbing her bow, which was hanging on the side of Moonlight's saddle. She the took an arrow from the bag beside it. "Get ready to fire, Moonlight."

 _~!{0}!~_

Meanwhile, back in his hut on the Edge, a black-haired youth of fourteen years, blind in his right eye, suddenly awoke, his emerald-green left eye snapping open. Sparrow Hawk, for that was his name, looked around groggily. "Who… What…" he suddenly became alert, glancing around in confusion. "Where's Shadow? SHADOW?!"

A shadow fell over the bed, and an unfamiliar voice rasped, "He's gone. And it's lights out for you!" Sparrow felt a sharp pain on the back of his head, right before his world went dark.

 _~!{0}!~_

Ocean, flying on Moonlight toward the place where she had heard Javon's call for help come from, scanned the ground, waiting to spot… "Dragon hunters! And they have Javon." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Okay, Moon," she addressed her dragon, "Head into the trees, out of sight. We'll sneak up on them."

Moonlight complied, and they disappeared into the forest.

 _~!{0}!~_

While this was happening, Shadow, Sparrow's unique black dragon, a Wooly Howl (who may have been part Night Fury), was running toward Javon, alerted by his calls for help. As he was running, though, a bola struck his legs, entangling them, resulting in him falling to the ground. He looked up into the angry eyes of a hunter.

 _~!{0}!~_

As it happens, his rider was in a very similar situation at that moment in time...

Sparrow woke up, groaning. After a quick scan of his surrounding, he assessed that he was on a small boat, with a dragon hunter. He cleared his throat, grabbing the hunters attention. "I always sleep with weapons." He announced, pulling out his two 12-inch daggers, his weapons of choice. "I think I'll leave."

The hunter sighed while grabbing a longsword. After a small struggle, Sparrow managed to disarm the hunter, before jumping into the water. "Ha!" He shouted over his shoulder as he started to swim towards the Edge, "Don't try that again! It was really _not_ a pleasure."

 _~!{0}!~_

Moonlight came in for a landing, and Ocean spied Shadow. "Shadow," she whispered, "Okay, Moon, one shot at the hunter, but only knock him out. We can question him later."

Moonlight shot a small plasma blast, knocking the hunter out, and Ocean quickly ran toward Shadow. "Hey boy," she said softly as she reached his side, "Let's get this off of you." She quickly loosened the bola, freeing him. Shadow huffed as he shook the bola off, then nudged Ocean, gesturing as best as a dragon could in Javon's general direction.

"I know boy," she whispered to the dragon, nodding her head. "Come on Moonlight." She began walking in the direction Shadow indicated, flicking her auburn braid off her shoulder so it fell down her back.

As she got closer to the spot, a dragon hunter spotted her. She smirked, asking, "Hi! How ya doing?" then engaged him in a swordfight.

Moonlight, meanwhile, continued heading toward Javon

 _~!{0}!~_

Sparrow, after a rather long swim, finally pulled himself to shore, his clothes entirely soaked through. He grunted, then muttered to himself, "Let's find Shadow now, shall we?"

He glanced around. "He probably went in the direction of shouting and fighting. Great," He muttered sarcastically. "Just perfect." With that, he began running in the direction of Ocean, Moon, and Shadow.

* * *

 _ **Author's note:** Well, that was Chapter 4. I hope you enjoyed it! If you have any questions, comments, or complaints (or any kind of feedback at all), feel free to leave a review! We'd appreciate any feedback you might have for us! Until next time!_

 _-Dragonrider's Fury_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's Note:** Alright, here is Chapter Five! I apologize for the long wait. See, I was gone for a week a while ago, and when I got back, I really didn't feel like writing for quite some time, and as I only write when I feel like writing, it took a while. Hopefully this chapter will make up for the delay. Also, in case people were wondering, yes, Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and all the others do indeed come into this story. They just come in a bit later. You'll find out why in a couple of chapters. ;-) _

_Anyway, enjoy!_

 _-Dragonrider's Fury_

* * *

In the meantime, Javon was being roughly pulled along by a dragon hunter. They were heading toward the beach, although Javon could scarcely have know that, what with all the trees and dragon hunters blocking his view. They were moving single file now, as the trees pressed close on either hand.

As they were moving, Javon managed to grunt out, "You know, you could just- _Ugh_ -let me go. What have I- _Ugh_ \- ever done?" The hunter pulling him along either didn't hear ( _Which is unlikely,_ Javon thought), or else chose to ignore him, remaining obstinately silent.

Another hunter, near the front of the party, called out, "Hurry up! And _no_ talking!"

"And why not?" Javon asked, just to spite them more than anything. The hunter immediately behind him gave no answer, instead shoving him ( _Excessively hard,_ Javon thought bitterly) from behind, saying only, "Keep moving!"

Javon scowled at the hunter's back. "Okay, I didn't want to have to do this," He said, "but you leave me no choice!" The last four words were punctuated by grunts, as Javon abruptly stopped, pivoted on his heel, taking the hunter in front of him by surprise and hurling him into the one behind him, and took off running through the forest.

 _~!{0}!~_

Sparrow Hawk, meanwhile, running up the beach, heard the dragon hunters shouting and Javon's voice. "Well," he said to himself, "I know where he is now. So does literally anybody within a hundred miles of here."

Shadow suddenly emerged from the trees and ran to Sparrow's side. Sparrow jumped onto his back, exclaiming, "Let's go!" They took off and began climbing above the trees. "I doubt Ocean will need help," Sparrow thought aloud, "but I'm bored."

They soared down toward the hunters, arriving at the same as Ocean and Moonlight. Sparrow slid off of Shadow's back before asking Ocean, "So, what did I miss? I always miss the action..."

 _~!{0}!~_

Now, we must back up a bit to where Ocean and the hunter were still engaged in a duel…

After going back and forth for a while, the dragon hunter began to tire, his weight and size putting him at a disadvantage to the light, quick Ocean. He was also beginning to lose his temper, aided by Ocean's mocking remarks. "Aww, is the big, bad dragon hunter worn out?" She ignored a couple of minor wounds she had received from the hunter's sword, and with a quick movement, managed to disarm him.

After picking up his sword, she pointed both blades at his head. "Walk slowly over to that tree," She commanded, jerking her head in the intended direction. " _NOW!"_ The dragon hunter complied, not having much choice, with an able swordsman (swordswoman?) aiming his own blade at his head, fully able to dispose of him at a moment's notice.

After securely tying him up, Ocean looked around. "Now," She wondered, "where did Moon go?" Moonlight had spied the troop of dragon hunters with Javon, and prepared to fire, but was unable to get a clear shot. She instead began following them, Ocean close at her heals.

As they were charging after them, Ocean muttered to herself, "I told him not to put himself in danger! And what happens? He's in danger!" She sighed, then looked up and saw Sparrow and Shadow coming in for a landing.

 _~!{0}!~_

While this was going on, Javon was running through the forest as fast as he could, with his hands still tied. A flurry of crossbow bolts flew over his head, and he ducked just in time, exclaiming "Whoa!" He then cried, "Yikes!" as two bolas hurtled by, one on each side of him. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew! That was too close."

Coming suddenly to an embankment, he paused briefly, considering, then grinned. "Well!" he said, "This looks fun!" He began sliding down, the sounds of pursuit fading as he neared the bottom. When he reached the base of the embankment, he stood up and looked around.

Satisfied that he was no longer being followed, he said to himself, "Now, let's see, next order of business, freeing my hands." He searched around for a suitable tree, and finding one, sat down next to it, and began rubbing the rope up and down on a rough root.

As it slowly began to fray, Javon muttered, "Come on, come on." The rough strands continued to separate, one at a time… "Nearly there…" He muttered. "Come on… Got it!" The rope snapped, and Javon stood up…

…Only to be knocked over again as two bolas crashed into him, one wrapping around his legs, and the other around his chest, pinning his arms to his sides. " **ARRGHH!** " Javon roared in frustration, as yet another hunter stepped out of the trees, smiling meanly. "You're right. I _have_ got it!" He laughed ( _In that stupid, annoying way of theirs,_ Javon thought, scowling), and, picking him up, threw him over his shoulder, and began rapidly carrying him back the way he had come.

 _~!{0}!~_

As they were nearing the beach, Javon spotted something, or rather, some _one_ , behind the hunter. He smiled as Moonlight crept up behind the hunter and tripped him with her tail. Ocean then walked out of the trees, pointing both of her swords at the hunter. "You messed with the wrong people!" She growled, then turned and glared at Javon. "And you!" She gave an irritated sigh.

Javon gave her his best 'perfectly innocent' look, and asked, "What?" His expression then abruptly changed to one of anger and defiance, as his steel-blue gaze shifted to the hunter. "Now!" he ordered, "Tell me! Where's my dragon? What have you done with him? Also," he added, looking back at Ocean, perfectly-innocent expression back on his face, "could you untie me, please?"

Ocean rolled her eyes, turned to Moonlight, and said, "Moon, make sure that hunter stays there." She turned again, and, walking to Javon, untied him. Turning back to the hunter, she commanded, "Answer the question!"

"Thanks," Javon told Ocean gratefully. He then turned, scowling, toward the hunter. "Well?" He demanded.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:** Well, that was Chapter 5! I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave any feedback or questions you might have in a review! Until next time!_

 _-Dragonrider's Fury_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Note:** Hey, everyone. Sorry for the long delay. (Do I say that every time?) But don't worry, this story is by no means dead! I just only very rarely have the motivation to work on it. I don't plan on abandoning this story, so you can take comfort in that, I guess? Thanks for your reviews, everyone who wrote one! Anyway, I'm done rambling for now. On with the story!_

 _-Dragonrider's Fury_

* * *

The hunter grinned wickedly, before replying, "Your dragon? I'm afraid you won't be seeing that beast anytime soon." He laughed, a slightly deranged chuckle. "It's not yours, anymore."

Sparrow Hawk entered the clearing, his dragon following at his heels. "Hmm," he murmured thoughtfully, pulling out one of his daggers and casually beginning to sharpen it. "Maybe," he began, "it'd be better if you told us WHERE his dragon is?"

Javon was angry. No, scratch that, he was furious. He began to advance on the hunter, a scowl that would scare a dead man plastered on his face. "He is _not_ a **BEAST!** He's my dragon. _**My**_ _ **dragon!**_ And that's _'He'_ , not _'it'_!" By this time, Javon had advanced so far that he was nose to nose with the dragon hunter, right in his face. " **GET IT RIGHT!** "

Having finished yelling him down, and having regained a little of his completely lost temper, Javon slowly backed off, pulling out his throwing knives as he did so. Holding them threateningly, and still scowling, he finished, "Now, I'll ask you _one_ _l_ _ast time:_ **Where is my dragon?!** "

The hunter looked nervous. No, scratch that, he looked completely and totally terrified. Under a different set of circumstances, the sight would have almost been comical. After noiselessly moving his mouth two or three times, he finally managed to stutter out, "I-i-it's – Uhm, s-sorry, H-HE – i-is on th-the big f-flagship. G-get that knife out of my face!"

Sparrow turned to Javon. "Let's tie him up. You can ride with me and Shadow, if you want. We need to get to the flagship!"

Ocean, standing quietly by throughout this entire exchange, rolled her eyes. "You're talking like I'm not even here." She sighed, then continued, "Let me deal with the hunter. You two head out, and I'll gather up the others and come with backup." Under her breath, she added, "I wonder why they didn't come when they heard the explosions?"

Sparrow coughed awkwardly, then looked sheepishly at Ocean. "Sorry. Okay. Sounds like a plan." He jumped onto Shadow's back, followed closely by Javon, then said, "Let's go!"

Ocean tied the hunter up, watching Shadow, Sparrow, and Javon fly off, then crouched, looking the hunter straight in the eye. "Let's get this straight," she began. "My dragon **never** misses, and she'll be watching you while I go and tie up your friends. So you can either try to escape, and see how far you get, or you can be a good hunter, and stay put." She smiled slightly. "I suggest the latter."

Turning, she got up to check on the other hunters, and told her dragon, "Moonlight, distress signal. Hiccup needs to know about this." Moonlight obliged, and Ocean walked off.

 _~!{0}!~_

Meanwhile, up in the sky aboard Shadow, Javon and Sparrow easily identified the flagship, being, as it was, the largest one in the water. Turning to Javon, Sparrow remarked, "Hey, Javon… I see a cage. I think it's Firelash!" Assessing the situation further, he added, "Okay, so it seems like there are only two guards there. Should be quick, and fairly easy. I blast the hunters, and you'll spring the lock. Unless you have another idea?"

Looking around briefly, Javon declared, "Nope. Sounds good to me! Let's go!"


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's Note:** Well, here is Chapter 7! I hope you are enjoying this story so far, and I thank you for sticking with me through the admittedly pretty bad first few chapters (which I really ought to re-write, one of these days…), the irregular update schedule, and my possibly annoying Author's Notes. I don't know, do any of you find these things irritating? Let me know. I never have. Anyway, with that out of the way, time for some review replies! I try to reply to your reviews through this site's PM system, but I always appreciate it when other authors do this, so I might as well do it too, right?_

 _B. Avar: Well, now you get to find out! I hope you were(n't!) driven crazy waiting! :D_

 _anhedral: Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your kind words mean a lot. And don't worry, this thing is far from over! (In fact, we haven't even finished the roleplay. :) )_

 _Okay, enough chatter. To the story! Enjoy!_

 _-Dragonrider's Fury_

* * *

Javon and Sparrow crouched low along Shadow's back as he dived, gathering his fire in his mouth. Quickly dispatching the two guards, they landed. Sparrow said, "Okay, go!"

As Javon sprinted toward the cage, Sparrow called after him, "You _do_ know how to pick a lock, right?" Over his shoulder, Javon called back, "I've never tried, but I'll give it my best shot! Cover me! There are certain to be more hunters aboard!"

He reached the cage, and began fumbling with the lock, muttering to himself. "Come on! I can do this. Almost there..." He broke off with a snarl of frustration as the lockpick he had been using suddenly snapped. Turning back to Sparrow, he said, "I'm going to look for a key. Care to help?"

Sparrow snickered, then gave Javon his best evil grin. "Sure, I'll help!" He turned to his dragon. "Shadow," he requested, "blast the lock, please." His dragon complied, and the lock shattered. Just as quickly, the smirk on Sparrow's face was replaced by a look of total surprise, which would have set Javon laughing, were they in a slightly less serious situation.

"Oh, I wasn't- it's not dragonproof?!" Turning back to Javon, he continued, "I just wanted to see if you could pick a lock. My question is answered. But, why is it not dragonproof?" His question was left hanging to the winds. After a brief moment, he chuckled at the incredulous expression on Javon's face, then said, "Okay, I saw distress blasts from Moonlight, near the clubhouse. Let's go!"

Javon stood by the cage, slightly stunned. He blinked, then blinked again. Quickly shaking his head, he turned to Firelash. "Come on, boy!" he encouraged. "Let's get out of here!"

He climbed onto the strong, serpentine neck, and with one mighty thrust of the dragon's broad wings, they took to the sky. Javon couldn't resist throwing back a good-natured taunt. "Last one there's a rotten dragon rider!" he crowed to Sparrow. "You're on!" came the reply. Shadow took off from the deck, Sparrow riding him, and dragons and riders chased each other back to the clubhouse.

* * *

 _~!{0}!~_

* * *

In the mean time, Ocean Rose was pacing the ground where she had tied up three dragon hunters, muttering to herself. "How did the other hunters escape? And where are the riders?"

A low chuckle halted her pacing, and her eyes widened. An older, slightly deranged hunter had awakened. "Do you really think we only tried grabbing the boy?" Another hunter hissed at him to be quiet, but he took no notice. "There's a good chance she's going to kill us; it doesn't matter if she knows," he said with unnerving matter-of-factness.

Hearing this, Ocean drew her sword from its sheath, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "If I know… what?" she asked. The hunter grinned ( _Not a very nice grin,_ the back corner of her mind thought), and got something like a faraway look in his eyes.

"You might not remember me," he began, "but I remember you from when Ryker was still alive." He uttered a slightly maniacal laugh, then continued, "Oh, he didn't like you." Then, apparently snapping back to the present, he revealed, "We didn't just try nabbing that boy. We got all of the riders on this island… and your precious Woolly Howl."

The blood drained from Ocean's face, and she ran off. After her retreating form, the hunter screamed, "You'll never see that dragon again!" The other hunters yelled something at him, but Ocean was too preoccupied to notice what.

It didn't take long for Moonlight to catch up with her, and as she jumped onto her back, she said, "I am going to hope that that dragon hunter was lying. I don't care that they might escape now. All I care about is-" As the clubhouse came into sight, she broke off what she had been saying, instead calling out, "Hello! Anybody?" Then, receiving no reply, she commanded, "Moonlight, plasma blast!"

The dragon did as was requested, shooting high into the air. Nothing happened. No one came out. Seeing this, Ocean's face became even more pinched with worry. "This is not good," she murmured. "This is not good at all."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:** So, that was chapter 7. And actually a new record for length, I believe. Sorry about the cliffhanger-y ending, but it seemed the best place to end the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! As always, reviews are appreciated. See you next time! :-D_

 _-Dragonrider's Fury_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's Note:**_ _Alright, Chapter 8_ _is finally here_ _!_ _Sorry for the delay (again). I often find it hard_ _to put my mind in story-writing mode, which is why it takes me a long time between updates._ _Anyway, I hope you enjoy!_

 _-Dragonrider's Fury_

* * *

Ocean Rose saw Javon and Sparrow land and, running over to them, blurted "They're gone! Everyone's gone, including Snowflake!"

Both gasped as the full import of her words sank in. Javon stared, mouth agape, momentarily struck dumb with incredulity. Finding his tongue, he demanded, "W-what? Where? How? WHY? Is Silversky around?" He cupped his hands around his mouth, and called the little Razorwhip's name. There was no response.

Sparrow, a grim look on his face, met their eyes. "Firelash," he reasoned slowly, "was a distraction. They took the others while Ocean was alone." A look of despair flashed across Javon's face, so brief it might have been imagined. Sparrow continued, "Or maybe they're, like, elsewhere. I don't know."

Javon, also looking grim, turned and stared his companions straight in the eye. "Come on." He set his jaw, the fire of determination and anger evident in his bearing. "It looks like it's up to us to save them. If I find that those dragon-hunting **scum** have hurt Silversky or any of the others..." He didn't finish the thought, instead whirling on his heel and hurling his throwing knives into the clubhouse wall with all his strength. They sunk in with a resounding _thunk_. Javon glared after them, teeth clenched, trembling with suppressed fury.

After a moment, he shook himself back to the task at hand, and strode over to the wall, yanking his knives free. Shoving them into his belt, he slewed around to face the others again. "Let's get moving," he snapped.

"We need to find them," rejoined Sparrow, clambering onto his dragon's back. "Take me up, Shadow. Take me up high."

Her shock wearing off, Ocean nodded her head. Turning to mount Moonlight, she fairly growled, "Those Dragon Hunters aren't going to succeed with… _whatever_ they're planning." Dragon and rider climbed next to Sparrow and Shadow.

* * *

The Woolly Howl, black wings mightily beating the air, had soon risen to nearly twice the height of the volcano. Sparrow, after scanning the waters around the Edge, suddenly called, "There! To the east. Hunter ships sailing away."

On the ground, Javon turned to his dragon. "Firelash," he addressed the Monstrous Nightmare, "take me up. We have some hunters to hunt down." Javon seated himself on the proffered neck, and they took to the skies. "After that ship!" cried Javon.

Ocean was scanning the skies as the three riders and dragons joined in formation. Her slight, concerned frown did not go unnoticed. Before the other two could inquire what the problem was, she said, "We have to hurry! It looks like there's a storm coming!"

"Let it come," Javon called over his shoulder. "It will slow the hunters down." Then, in an undertone that only Firelash heard, he added, "I hope." Raising his voice again to be heard over the rush of wind, he exclaimed, "Come on! I won't stand by and let them take my friends and my dragon!"

He turned back to his mount, shouting, "Faster, Firelash! We can catch them! Let's beat the dome and then some! Our friends are down there!" Firelash uttered a mighty, defiant roar, and, spreading his wings wider and committing his entire body to the effort, put on a tremendous burst of speed. The sudden acceleration left Javon breathless, as much from surprise as from the cold air whipping around him. He hadn't known Monstrous Nightmares, even nearly Titan-Wing ones, _could_ fly so fast.

"Wait Javon!" Ocean called. "We need to make a-" But Javon and Firelash were already long out of earshot. "...plan." Sighing as she finished the sentence, she turned to Sparrow. "Well, we better catch up to him."

Sparrow nodded his agreement. "Yeah." He turned to his dragon. "Come on, Shadow!" The Woolly Howl climbed higher, then dived, pouring on speed as he slowly closed the gap between himself and the fiery dragon. Once they were close enough to be heard, Sparrow cried, "Wait! WAIT! Javon! We need to plan! You can't take on all those ships alone."

Javon pulled up short, his dragon backwinging to slow them down. "Hold Firelash!" Turning around to face his teammates, he apologized. "Sorry. I guess I can be a little impetuous. But those are my friends down there. And," his face darkened, "my dragon. So," he queried, "what's the plan? But make it snappy. We don't want to lose them!"

"Okay... I can be a distraction," Sparrow thought aloud. "You and Ocean work on springing the Riders. We need to stay ahead of the storm."

"Sounds good!" Javon proclaimed. "Let's go! But… Be careful." Rider and dragon swung back around to face the retreating ships, and started gaining speed once again. Javon called back over his shoulder, "You coming, Ocean?"

"Of course I'm coming!" she declared, while Sparrow grinned lightheartedly. "When am I ever careful?" he joked.

Ocean bit her lip in thought as she pulled up alongside Javon. "Do you want to take care of the guards, or should I?" she asked.

"Let's _both_ take care of the guards," he grinned in reply. "Element of surprise? Those clouds would make good cover."

"Yes, they would," she agreed. She urged Moonlight to a climb, and nocked an arrow on her bow. "Have Firelash shoot a fireball ten seconds after I release the arrow."

"Okay, will do." They kept climbing until they leveled out in a hover above the clouds. "After that," Javon continued, "let's both dive to below their sight line, and hit the ships from the side. Sound good?"

At her nod, Javon pulled out his knives. "Also," he added, with a glint in his eyes, "we can do some more damage on the way down." Then, shaking his head, muttered to himself, "If only I had thought to equip my bow and quiver back at the clubhouse."

"I'm game!" Ocean affirmed. She drew the bowstring to her ear, took aim along the shaft, and fired. As she counted down, Javon joined her. "… Seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… zero! Fire, Firelash!" he exclaimed. "Let's give these hunters a taste of a dragonrider's fury!" Firelash roared his agreement and complied, sending a blast of flame straight into the ship's hull as they dived.

"Yeah!" Javon crowed. "That's for kidnapping my friends!" Firelash fired again, striking the stern of the vessel with another gout of sticky flame. "And _that's_ for taking my dragon!" Javon announced. He then took careful aim, and let loose with his throwing knives. They flew straight and true, impaling the ship just under the waterline. "And **that's** for taking my other dragon!" he declared hotly.

Firelash, body entirely aflame except for his neck where Javon sat, then flew up, doubled back around, and came in for a heavy landing on the slowly tilting deck. Javon dismounted. "Now," he said, quickly schooling his thrilled smile into a wry, dangerous smirk, "are there any questions concerning my taking control of this ship?" Firelash began inhaling, fire visibly gathering in the back of his throat.

The hunters exchanged frightened looks and quickly dived overboard. "I didn't think so," Javon remarked, clearly amused. He gave the dragon's neck a pat, and Firelash quenched himself, swallowing his fire.

"Good boy, Firelash. Now, let's find our friends, shall we?"

Ocean and Moonlight then landed, and the girl dismounted, glaring at Javon. "Next time, leave some for me to scare!" she demanded irritably, and then, at Javon's startled expression, dropped the facade, laughing. Javon laughed too, a little ruefully.

"Now come on," she said, sobering, "we need to rescue our dragons, my brother, and the other riders!"

"Yes," Javon agreed, also becoming serious again, "and we'd better hurry! This ship won't stay afloat forever. Let's move!"

* * *

 _~!{0}!~_

* * *

While that attack had been going on, Shadow and Sparrow had begun, a little belatedly, to dive toward the other ships. "Hey!" he objected as Firelash and Javon executed their firing run, "What about the, uh, DISTRACTION?!" He sighed, then, landing on one of the ships, had his dragon blast a massive hole in the deck.

"Hi!" he called cheerfully to the hunters, "Nice to meet you guys! I hope you can't swim!" His dragon knocked them off the ship while he ran below.

"Hey! It's Sparrow," he called. "Any of you guys down here?"

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Well, there you go. Chapter 8. I hope you enjoyed it! I can't say when I'll get around to updating this again, but hopefully it won't be_ _ **as**_ _long of a wait. As always, reviews are appreciated. :-_ _D_

 _-Dragonrider's Fury_


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